Indonesia Announces Social Media Ban for Children Under 16

Indonesia will ban social media for children under 16, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said Friday.

Hafid, in a statement to the media, said that she just signed a government regulation that will mean children under the age of 16 can no longer have accounts on high-risk digital platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.

The implementation will start gradually on March 28.

“The basis is clear. Our children face increasingly real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and most importantly, addiction. The government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms.” Hafid said.

The calls for a social media ban for kids are growing, piloted by Australia, which became the first country to block social media access to children under 16 in a landmark ruling, which was severely opposed by Big Tech over the complexity of age verification. Subsequently, several countries began mulling similar restrictions to prevent social media addiction in kids. Greece, Spain, Italy, and France have imposed partial bans, while they navigate laws that can officially restrict social media access to kids.

Meanwhile, India's southern state of Karnataka, the home to tech hub Bengaluru, has passed a law to ban social media access to kids, becoming the first such state to join the movement against social media addiction. “With the objective of preventing ​adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in his annual budget speech on Friday.

— Written with inputs

Read more: Karnataka CM Bans Social Media Use for Kids Below 16